Promiscuity, paternity and personality in the great tit

Abstract

Understanding causes of variation in promiscuity within populations remain a major challenge. While most studies have focused on quantifying fitness costs and benefits of promiscuous behaviour, an alternative possibility-that variation in promiscuity within populations is maintained because of linkage with other traits-has received little attention. Here, we examine whether promiscuity in male and female great tits (Parus major)-quantified as extra-pair paternity (EPP) within and between nests-is associated with variation in a well-documented personality trait: exploration behaviour in a novel environment. Exploration behaviour has been shown to correlate with activity levels, risk-taking and boldness, and these are behaviours that may plausibly influence EPP. Exploration behaviour correlated positively with paternity gained outside the social pair among males in our population, but there was also a negative correlation with paternity in the social nest. Hence, while variation in male personality predicted the relative importance of paternity gain within and outside the pair bond, total paternity gained was unrelated to exploration behaviour. We found evidence that males paired with bold females were more likely to sire extra-pair young. Our data thus demonstrate a link between personality and promiscuity, with no net effects on reproductive success, suggesting personality-dependent mating tactics, in contrast with traditional adaptive explanations for promiscuity.

Nonautosomal Genetic Variation in Carotenoid Coloration

“…The pedigree is based on behavioral observations (provisioning of nestlings) and will thus assign erroneous parentage for any offspring sired by an extra-pair male. However, extra-pair paternity rates in 130 this species (13% for a nearby population: Patrick et al 2012) are expected to have only minor impacts on the accuracy of quantitative genetic parameters (Charmantier and Réale 2005). We used dummy coding to represent unknown parents as unrelated founders so that sibship information was retained in the pedigree.…”

Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

“…Similarly, exploratory behaviour increased the probability of extra-pair offspring in the nests of female great tits (Parus major), but only when mated to a male with a similar personality type (e.g., fast-fast explorers; van Oers et al 2008); however, a relationship between exploratory behaviour and extra-pair paternity was not detected in females from a different population of great tits (Patrick et al 2012). Moreover, female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) that exhibited greater readiness to copulate with a male during their first sexual encounter in life were more likely to engage in extra-pair copulations once socially paired than females that did not copulate during their first encounter with a male (Forstmeier 2007).…”

“…Empirical studies examining extra-pair mating have generally focused on the benefits and costs of extra-pair mating to females (reviewed in Patrick et al, 2012), but fewer studies have examined whether the ornamentation or behaviour of females underlies a female's success at gaining extra-pair copulations (e.g., García-Vigón et al, 2008;van Oers et al, 2008;Grunst and Grunst, 2014;Jacobs et al, 2015). Ornamental traits may influence a female's opportunity to engage in extra-pair copulations by attracting extra-pair mates (Torres and Velando, 2005) or enabling females to invade the territories of other females in search of extra-pair mates (Smith, 1988).…”

“…Rates of extra-pair paternity in socially monogamous birds vary widely among species and populations, and even within populations there is considerable variation; some females have mixed-paternity broods while others do not (Ryder et al, 2012;Patrick et al, 2012;Varian-Ramos and Webster, 2012;Hsu et al, 2015). Variation in rates of extra-pair paternity among females may be due to intrinsic differences in behavioural traits, such as exploratory (van Oers et al, 2008; but see Patrick et al, 2012) or sexual (Forstmeier, 2007) behaviour.…”

“…Variation in rates of extra-pair paternity among females may be due to intrinsic differences in behavioural traits, such as exploratory (van Oers et al, 2008; but see Patrick et al, 2012) or sexual (Forstmeier, 2007) behaviour. These individual differences in behavioural traits, commonly referred to as animal 'personalities' (Carere et al, 2005;Dingemanse et al, 2010;Réale et al, 2010a), are generally consistent over time and across contexts, such that some individuals tend to be consistently more aggressive, bold or exploratory than other individuals (Sih et al, 2004a).…”